Greenpeace accuses UK govt of using banned timber

Greenpeace accuses UK govt of using banned timber

Reuters, London

Activists of the environmental group Greenpeace abseiled off
cranes on a British government construction site on Thursday,
saying timber used there was logged illegally in Indonesia.

A government spokeswoman said an investigation would be
carried out to check whether the wood being used on the London
construction site was legal

The 11 Greenpeace activists began their protest at dawn on
Wednesday, climbing the 40-foot (13-meter) cranes on a Home
Office building site to call attention to the use of what they
said was illegal Indonesian plywood. Work at the site was halted.

"Because of the allegations, the Home Office asked for a full
investigation that the government may have inadvertently
sponsored wood from unsustainable forests," a Home Office
spokeswoman said.

She also said that all contractors are required to supply
documentation that the wood they use is legal. The government has
pledged not to purchase illegally logged timber.

Greenpeace said the British government should halt all plywood
imports from Indonesia, one of the world's largest timber
producers, since it was virtually impossible to certify that wood
from the country had not been logged illegally.

The environmental group said it had evidence that two
Indonesian companies supplying plywood to the site were selling
illegally logged rainforest timber.